What we learned from WWE Payback 2016

Sunday night's WWE Payback pay-per-view in Rosemont, Illinois, was marred by an early injury, but featured two legitimate Match of the Year contenders and a few other matches that were a ton of fun.

Here's everything that happened and what it all means as we prepare for the next pay-per-view on May 22, Extreme Rules.

Dolph Ziggler def. Baron Corbin

The winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal showed up in some fancy new pants, but despite brutalizing former world champion Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin couldn't pull off the win. He whooped Ziggler but good, but opted to pose and showboat, giving Ziggler just enough time to roll up Corbin for the three count.

What we learned: Corbin is still a threat, but he still has a lot to learn. He'll likely demand a rematch at Extreme Rules. If that's the case, pray for Ziggler.

WWE United States Championship Match: Kalisto (c) def. Ryback

The only rematch from WrestleMania 32, Kalisto and Ryback once again found themselves wrestling for the United States Championship on the Kickoff Show. The result was the same as last time, although the match itself was miles better. Kalisto managed to survive everything Ryback dished out and hit the Salida Del Sol for the pinfall victory.

What we learned: After losing decisively to the much smaller Kalisto twice in a row, one would hope (or assume) that Ryback will be moving on to his next feud and that Kalisto can start getting some more television time. Of course, it's equally likely that Ryback gets a rematch on Monday night's episode of RAW and wins the title. There's no telling with the U.S. belt these days.

No. 1 Contender's Tag Team Match: The Vaudevillains NC Enzo Amore & Big Cass

The match had only been underway for a few minutes when Simon Gotch went to throw Enzo Amore out of the ring. Enzo hit the bottom rope badly on the way out and appeared to knock himself out when his head hit the ring apron. Officials waved the match off and Amore was taken off on a stretcher.

It's unclear at this time whether the Vaudevillains will be considered to have won the match, but no winner was announced, so for now we'll consider this to be a no contest.

What we learned: Later in the show, news came through that Enzo was moving and talking, so the injury will hopefully not be a major one (or at least, it won't be as bad as we first feared). The Vaudevillains will likely move on to feud with New Day for the tag team titles, but the important thing now is that the news about Enzo remains positive and that he returns to action soon.

Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn

The two forever enemies of the WWE met in their first main roster singles pay-per-view match and it lived up to all expectations. The two put on an absolute clinic and their match was a work of art. In the end, Owens outlasted Zayn, hitting him with the pop-up powerbomb and pinning him.

After the match, Owens tossed Zayn out of the ring and ordered Byron Saxton to come in the ring and interview him. He bossed Saxton around said he has finally put his feud with Zayn to rest and proved he's the better man. He then promised he would refocus and reclaim his Intercontinental Championship.

What we learned: See next match.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz (c) def. Cesaro

Kevin Owens opted to stay at ringside and join the commentary team for the Intercontinental Championship match, seeing as he had a vested interest.

Miz and Cesaro had their own fantastic match, but Zayn returned to ringside and jumped Owens at the commentary table. The two attempted to brawl into the ring, distracting the referee just as Miz was tapping out to a crossface. Cesaro knocked Zayn and Owens off the apron, but Miz took advantage to roll up Cesaro with a handful of tights.

After the match, Cesaro, Miz, Owens and Zayn all hit finishers on each other. Owens was the last man standing and he posed with Miz's Intercontinental title as his music played.

What we learned: Owens' feud with Zayn isn't as finished as he would like it to be. These four men now have serious beef with one another and it looks like we'll be building to a four-way match (possibly a ladder match?) at Extreme Rules in three weeks. I welcome that with open arms.

Dean Ambrose def. Chris Jericho

These two got a lot of the time, but the match never really clicked like it could have. In the end, Ambrose managed to hit Dirty Deeds and get the win over Jericho.

What we learned: There was probably no one in WWE who needed a big win more than Dean Ambrose needed one. This probably won't be the end of their feud, but it probably should be. Ambrose has a ton of momentum just a few months ago, but after a lackluster showing at WrestleMania, he feels dead in the water right now. Let's get these men on to the next rival.

WWE Women's Championship Match: Charlotte (c) def. Natalya

In a rematch from Roadblock (and from their classic match in NXT back in 2014), Natalya had her uncle, Bret Hart, in her corner to counter the scheming of Charlotte's father, Ric Flair. Unfortunately, that hubris backfired on her. Charlotte locked on a Sharpshooter and Charles "Lil' Naitch" Robinson called for the bell to screw over Natalya.

Natalya and Bret locked in Sharpshooters on both Flairs after the match.

What we learned: WWE will still take any opportunity to rub the Montreal Screwjob in Bret Hart's face. That's OK, though. It's timeless and iconic. This probably all leads to a stipulation match between Nattie and Charlotte at Extreme Rules while we bridge the gap between now and the Sasha Banks title challenge at SummerSlam in August.

(Before the main event, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon had an in-ring segment. Vince was supposed to reveal who would be taking control of RAW going forward. In a bit of a shake-up, Vince revealed that they would both be in charge of the show and will have to find a way to co-exist ... or one of them will have to be so cutthroat that they'll dispatch the other.)

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) def. AJ Styles

AJ Styles won the match via countout after Roman Reigns went through an announce table, but Shane McMahon came out to restart the match as a no-countout contest. Then Reigns hit an inadvertent low blow and Styles won the match via disqualification. So that brought Stephanie out to restart the match as a no-DQ affair.

Styles managed to kick out of a Superman Punch, but Reigns hit another one and that brought out Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They pulled Styles out of the ring and hit the Boot of Doom on Reigns. Styles then hit the Phenomenal Forearm, but Reigns managed to get his foot on the ropes.

Finally the Usos ran down to ringside to attack Gallows and Anderson and even the odds. Reigns tossed Styles onto the four men at ringside, then hit a big dive, but got caught with another Phenomenal Forearm. Styles rolled Reigns back in the ring and hit a springboard 450, but Reigns kicked out. Styles missed a third forearm and Reigns hit a huge spear to get the pinfall victory and retain his title.

Backstage after the match, Shane and Stephanie agreed that Styles and Reigns should meet again at Extreme Rules in a rematch for the world title ... in an Extreme Rules Match.

What we learned: This match was really all about the intrigue of what would happen with Gallows and Anderson and whether Styles would ally himself with his former Bullet Club compatriots.

Gallows and Anderson did get involved, but it's still unclear whether they're working for or with Styles. Styles and Reigns, meanwhile, delivered an absolute classic match. Styles proved that he can take Reigns to his absolute limit -- with or without any help -- and Reigns proved he can hang with the best talent in the world.

And let's not forget that Styles won the match — twice — before Reigns was able to get one over on him. If any of these matches deserved a rematch at Extreme Rules, it's this one. We'll be looking forward to the next pay-per-view and another potential classic between these two.[sbnation.com]

Tweet